


Knowing

by pairatime



Category: Shelter (2007)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-31
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-16 15:08:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14813726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pairatime/pseuds/pairatime
Summary: Gabe see the shirt Zach is wearing and just knows.





	Knowing

**Author's Note:**

> Gabe’s through from the moment he sees the shirt to the time he see Zach in the diner, it will help if you remember the movie well enough to know what’s happening when Gabe isn’t there.
> 
> Smallfandomfest 23

He rounds the corner into the diner’s cramped kitchen and spots Zach, spots the shirt his best friend is wearing and his world freezes for a single moment that lasts forever and he knows what’s been going on, just knows.

He bullshits his way through the conversation, his mouth on auto pilot as his mind is racing to connect the dots to explain what he knows. A dozen little things he never through about click into place in ways they hadn’t before but making so much more since now. Everything makes more since.

Zach’s long board was at his place because Zach and Shaun, they had been-Shaun wasn’t sleeping when he came home, his brother had been with-Zach’s problem with the gay bar back in high school-Fuck how had he not seen it before?

“How long has Zach been into guys?” He asked himself as he stands on a crowded public beach. Zach’s diner miles behind him; sand and ocean-and people- before him, keys in his hand-but he doesn’t remember driving.

Letting out a sigh he drops to the sand and stares, eyes fixed on the endless waves.

“Since when is Zach into guys? And why didn’t he tell me?” he asked himself again.

The first question is so easy to answer he actually calls himself ‘fucking stupid’ aloud as he thinks backs on all the signs.

Zach’s eyes not tracking babes as they walked by, even when they were the next best thing to topless. Zach didn’t seem to care until Billy or he pointed them out.

Whenever they watched beach volleyball games Zach always wanted to hang around to watch the guys play after.

It was almost always Tori that leaned into to kiss Zach, Tori that would pull Zach down the beach for some alone time after a night of surfing. It was always Tori.

Just like prom. At both junior and senior prom he knew Zach had to be pushed into doing more than dancing on the floor.

Fuck, did Tori know? Was that why she broke it off last month? Had Zach told her? Had Tori just figured it out? The questions raced through his mind as he dropped his head into his hands. Was he the last to know? Did his best friend not trust him?

No. No. it wasn’t about trust. It couldn’t be, he wouldn’t believe that Zach didn’t trust him. They’d been through to much; it had to be something else. It had to be.

Falling back into the sand he looked at the afternoon sun. Zach wouldn’t lie about something like this, and neither would Tori so his best friend hadn’t known. That’s the only think that makes since. 

Zach didn’t know he was gay. But the shirt, Shaun. Okay, Zach hadn’t known he was into guys. Not until…until when? When had Zach figured it out?

Fuck, he exclaimed as he hit the sand. He needed to talk with someone about this. But who? His two go to were Zach and Shaun. But he couldn’t…Tori. It had to be Tori.

His phone was ringing before his feet left the hot sand.

***

They didn’t look like they were together he thought as he looked at where Shaun and Zach were sitting on the beach, resting and waiting for the next wave to chase after.

They look like two dudes just waiting for the surf. Maybe he was wrong and that hadn’t been Shaun’s shirt. Maybe Zach wasn’t-fuck that. His buddy was fucking gay and he knew it. Nothing else make’s any since. My bro is into guys…but is he into my brother?

Does Zach even know about Shaun? He asked himself, missing the wave he’d been chasing, stuck in calm waters for a moment as he looked for the next ride.

Maybe Shaun told him. Shaun open about it. Zach came out for a surf sess. Ran into Shaun, they started talking and maybe one thing lead to another and score one for the Zachster. He grinned as he caught his next wave and rode it toward the far side of the beach. 

Yeah, it’s a one off and Zach just hasn’t told him yet. Zach will tell him at the party tonight or before he headed back to school, yeah, they were good.

He was smiling wide as his feet hit the wet sand.

***

His smile at seeing his best friend and brother dropped the longer he watched them sit in the truck. Watched them fight.

And what a fight they were having. It wasn’t a we might have fucked once because we’re guys and guys like sex fight. It was a we’ve been more than fucking and more than once but now it’s in trouble fight and fuck him they were a couple. They were fucking together and now one of them was ripping the other’s heart out and neither of them had fucking told him.

The pounding of his flip flops on the brick seemed impossibility loud as he stomped away, heading toward the ocean with its sand and waves. And beer He could count on beer to be honest and not fucking lie to him. He needed beer and lots of it he decided, finding one of the ice and beer filled buckets before dropping into the cool sand beside it and cracking one open.

The first of many.

***

Taking a few steps away from the door he stopped and grabbed a near by railing while he waited for the nausea to fade again.

Fuck that was the third place he’d looked for Zach and he didn’t know if his head was going to let him keep looking. He was never drinking that fucking much again.

Making it to his car he fell into the seat as he through about where Zach might have gone. Zach hadn’t gone to his and Jeanie’s place, Tori’s place or their favorite beach and wasn’t at that grocery story he worked at. And he hadn’t seen Zach when he checked in on Shaun, nor on their beach so where the fuck was Zach.

He was not leaving until his best bud knew he knew. Less than two days and he couldn’t deal with sitting on this, he had no idea how Zach kept it to himself for fucking years? Fuck that. They needed to talk. He was getting his best friend back now. Now where the fuck…diner. Maybe he’s at the diner.

The End


End file.
